What is Self-Care?

A focus on self-care is becoming increasingly important as the demands within caregiving professions seem to be intensifying. Self-care is any activity of an individual that is done with the intention of improving or maintaining wellness. Professional self-care can be defined as the incorporation of skills and strategies by caregivers to preserve their personal, familial, emotional and spiritual needs while serving the needs of their clients (Newell & MacNeil, 2010).

Categories for self-care can include 1) physical: body work, exercise, adequate sleep, nutrition: 2) psychological: effective relaxation time, contact with nature, forms of creative expression, balance between work and recreation; 3) social/interpersonal: supportive relationships and knowing when/how to obtain help; and 4) professional: balancing work and home life, setting boundaries and limits, and getting help/support through peers, role models, and supervisors (Charles Figley interview, 2005).

Self-care has been identified as the greatest strategy to prevent or reduce the undesirable effects of Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Vicarious Traumatization and Burnout. Professional caregivers are at much higher risk than other professionals of experiencing compassion fatigue due to the nature of our work (Radey & Figley, 2007).

Compassion is a very important element in the success of a caregiver engaging clients in direct practice work. In order to gain the trust of the clients we mush develop a positive working relationship and be able to empathize with the client. “Sometimes our hearts go out to the clients to the point where we feel their pain and suffering, which can lead to mental, physical and emotional fatigue” (Radey & Figley, 2007). Chronic exposure to others’ traumatic events is also a factor that puts caregivers at higher risk of experiencing compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue can lead to burnout, a condition of emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual exhaustion that results from practicing with people who are vulnerable or suffering (Newell & MacNeil, 2010).

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"If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." ~Buddha

"Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort." ~Deborah Day

"If you aren't good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you'll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren't even giving to yourself." ~Barbara De Angelis